Jacques Pepin's kitchen

We figured after 30 years on television, Jacques Pepin—one of the original celebrity chefs—would have all sorts of fancy cooking equipment at home. But the Frenchman's most prized possessions in his Madison, Connecticut, kitchen are a beat-up old garlic press and an industrial-size rubber garbage pail.

Smart drawers

No matter how hard he closes them, Jacques' kitchen drawers never slam shut; they have a catching mechanism that slows them down. Jacques also has two heating drawers that go up to 150 degrees. "I've put brisket in them and cooked it for 24 hours," he says.